Artemis
by mi-esperanza
Summary: One teenager's quest through life, suddenly realizing that her life has more than she expected. Please RR.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from The Matrix. I am only temporarily borrowing these amazing people from Andy and Larry Wachowski.  
  
Artemis: Chapter One Intuition  
  
Accidents happen, seemingly for no purpose. Everyday, the one thing that lingers in my mind are the events of that cold, opaque night. The fog that contributed to the accident has seemed to found a permanent residence in my mind, for I have forgotten most of what happened.  
  
Night after night, I am filled with flashing nightmares. Like a movie, but I am shown frames one after another. No one deserves this torture, especially when half of the story is blocked out by amnesia. Night after night, I try to paste together the pieces that have fallen right in front of me. In the back of my mind, a small intuition is telling me that I am missing a piece, and someone out there knowingly has it.  
  
"Marie! Marie! Get your fat ass out of that bed. We can't afford for you to sleep at home when there is school to be gone to!" This was the daily speech my step-mom would give me. It got annoyingly monotonous. And it was somewhat sad, for I was the one that had to get up each morning, and I was the one that had to go to school, and I was the one that had to complete school to go to college. And I was the one that had to get a good paying job. And I was the one that had to support the family (when only one person living in that family was blood-related).  
  
But of course, being stupid Marie, I would let the bitch step all over me and tell me what to do. I was too afraid of speaking up to her, or anyone else for that matter. The only person I ever did talk to was my twin brother, Mark.  
  
Mark had an aura around him that made him very approachable and very likable. He was a very gentle person, and the only one who treated me like I was remotely human. But his grades suffered (like my emotional state), so I had to take all the weight of the family. While Mark was out partying with his buddies, I spent my nights hovering the advance calculus book, trying desperately to understand any of the formulas.  
  
And when I wasn't studying, I sat in front of my computer. Ah, my beloved computer. I spent two years working odd jobs just to raise the money for this baby. It meant the world to me. I reprogrammed it so it would work to my liking. I created my website that had hopes of bringing others like my together. I had already created a couple disks that could help my fellow hackers.  
  
Mark said I was in desperate need of a boyfriend. I would tell him that I already have one, then point to the computer. Mark would just shake his head, telling me that I was living in a fantasy world. Oh how right he was.  
  
But what came before all this? Both Mark and I could not remember anything before our father died, when we were both two years old. Our birth mom died giving birth to us, and our parents had divorced right after mom found out she was pregnant. That seems so long ago, and for some reason, I felt it was much longer than I expected.  
  
Twins are an interesting sort. Mark and I have always been best friend, but we were as different as night and day. Mark was social, while I enjoyed the company of a good book. Mark was skeptical, while weekly I would buy the tabloids and bask in any supernatural phenomena that might be afoot.  
  
My questioning of Mark and my origin and the truth about the world started when I over heard a couple adults talking. They spoke like they knew something normal folks didn't. It was right after school, and I took my normal route through the backways and alleys to my apartment. I found a dumpster that had some interesting things in it, and me being Marie, I just had to scout inside and see if there was anything useful. While I was inside, two men and a woman walked down the alley and stopped right in front of the dumpster.  
  
"This isn't going to work," one of the men complained.  
  
"Yes it is, you have to believe," the other said to him. "Have you not learned how much there is to the world? You know that there are no limits; I've seen you push those limits even outside of the Matrix."  
  
// Matrix?! I've heard of that! But from where? //  
  
"But how are we going to find Artemis and Apollo? These are two people who probably don't even know their existence and powers. The agents could have erased their memories so they would forget all they knew and did beforehand."  
  
"Have patience. We will find them, and soon all will be better. Trinity, let's get us out of here"  
  
"Yes." Then "Trinity" took out a cell phone, and they walked away.  
  
After ten minutes, I slowly made my way out of the top of the dumpster. I've heard of the Matrix before; I just couldn't remember from where. And Artemis? That was my screen name in a hacker chat room. I would visit this chat room many times and work on improving my computer, but also seeing what was going on in the world. And this is where I learned of the Matrix. I ran the rest of the way home, but shoulder bag hitting my thighs the whole way. My heart pounded with excitement, and because I was running. As soon as I got to the apartment door, I ran through, ignoring my step-mom and slamming my bedroom door behind me. This was too good to pass up.  
  
I clicked the computer on and went straight to the site. There were a couple of people in the chat, but my online friend, Neo, was not on. So I just plopped on my bed and turned up my music. Every five minutes, I would look over my shoulder to see if Neo was on. If anyone would know about the Matrix, it had to be Neo. He was infamous in the chat room and a wonderful person to talk to. I eventually drifted off to sleep. After an hour or so, my computer beeped, waking me up.  
  
Wake up Artemis. It's time. . . 


	2. Commencement

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from The Matrix. I am only temporarily borrowing these amazing people from Andy and Larry Wachowski.  
  
Artemis: Chapter Two Commencement  
  
I stared at my computer. What the hell was happening? I couldn't believe it. The computer was talking to me. I finally snapped out of my daze and slowly reached for the keyboard.  
  
-Artemis here. Who is this?  
  
I waited. One minute...two...three..after four minutes, I convinced myself that it was just some idiot hacker trying to make a fool of me. I started to shut down my computer when  
  
-Wait. Don't shut down. Artemis, be careful who you encounter and who you talk to.  
  
-What must I do?  
  
-Pick up the phone.  
  
Suddenly, the phone rang with a blast, surprising me and forcing me to fall out my seat. I don't know what scared me the most. The loud ring or the uncanny coincidence. I walked across my room and picked up the phone with a shaking hand. "Hello?"  
  
"You are not safe. This line may be tapped. They are looking for you just as we are. Your brother will be home in ten minutes. Take him to Narrow's Road within the next half hour. Whatever you do, do not stop until you arrive. It's time." The phone clicked dead. The deep, unwavering voice left. My breathing retreated to small, short breaths, scared and confused. I shook my head, thinking this was a practical joke.  
  
// Who could have done this? // My mind raced with the possibilities of those in my class who would delight in making me look stupid. I went over all those with computer compatibilities. But I was on good terms with them. No one else held a grudge against me; I just seemed to disappear in the shadows enclosing the back of the classroom. No one knew me, and no one would care if I was gone.  
  
Mark, maybe. But if I was going somewhere, he was definitely joining me. I remember being told that he and I should have been joined at the hip; we used to be so close. It's amazing what time can do to two people.  
  
As I waited for Mark, I nit-picked through every possibility, every situation, and every consequence. Like being in this dump was bad enough. The constant yelling, drunken breath, rainy days entering the ceiling; for some reason I've always believed that I wasn't supposed to live this life. Like something more was waiting out there for me, calling my name, and just yearning to take my hand and introduce me to my real fate.  
  
After thinking this once a month, I would hit my head against my desk, punishing myself for living in a dream world. But my mind would go into its "philosophy stage" (as I lovingly called it). This was when I would think over something, then contradict it, and in turn, contradict my contradiction. This was a terrible and frustrating habit of mine. I was always getting depressed when I wouldn't come to a conclusion in my thinking because of my constant contradictions.  
  
I peered over to my almost-broken clock radio. According to the anonymous caller, Mark had sixteen seconds to get his ass through the front door of our run-down apartment. I shook my head once more and plopped down on the bed, trying to concentrate on my breathing. The apartment door opened and slammed shut, forcing the apartment walls the shake. Then next thing I saw was Mark running madly into my room, His face was flushed and his breath was wheezing with exhaustion. Once again, I didn't know what frightened me the most, Mark in this state or Mark just being there.  
  
"Mark! Fuck, what happened?" I walked towards him with worry carved onto my face.  
  
"Man.Black suit.Runs way too fast..," Mark managed to gasp out. I had no idea what he was talking about. I had a strange voice telling me that he was in trouble, and soon enough, I would be too. I decided to take this as a sign, and I commenced telling Mark about my day. In five minutes, I was able to spit out about the people outside the dumpster, the computer hacker, and the mysterious caller. When I looked up at Mark's face, I expected to see a look of disbelief. But he looked concerned and just as scared as I was.  
  
He sighed. "We have to leave. Whoever that person was, they know something. They can help us. I know you get those feelings, Marie. I get them too. There's something different and wrong with the world. Those people are the ones that are going to show us. Trust me, I would love to cease getting chased by men in suits."  
  
I nodded and walked towards my dresser, to get some clothes out. Mark placed his hand on the knob and shook his head "no".  
  
"Take nothing. We will arrive with nothing. We have to start a new." I had no idea why Mark was so anxious to leave. His life seemed perfect. I was still in shock from the fact that my life might change completely. Mark knew something that I didn't, and it upset me. But I just ignored it for that time, and we walked out of the apartment with out heads up and butterflies in our stomach. We were not prepared for what was going to happen in the next hour. 


End file.
